Aftermath
by Gaepora13
Summary: Some of his crew were dead. Some were MIA. Some retired, and some disappeared. But when one man realizes a looming threat that only the remaining can take down, they'll need to regroup in order to save the galaxy one last time. Mass Effect after story, spoilers from the games, do NOT read if you haven't finished the games.
1. A New Life

**Original story time. Well, hopefully original. Anyway, here goes.**

**Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 spoilers throughout the story. Do not read if you are still finishing the games.**

**Commander Shepard. First human Spectre. Captain of the Systems Alliance vessel, the SSV Normandy. Assembled crew after crew to take down various threats, from Saren Arterius, the rogue Spectre, and his flagship, Soverign, a Reaper, to the Collectors, the Protheans who were believed extinct by the Reapers, but really enslaved to capture humans to power the super Reaper. Defeated the Reaper invasion on Earth at the cost of his own life.**

**Many of his crew were dead or scattered. Joker, the famed pilot of the Normandy, along with EDI and Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, disappeared in the battle and were lost. Miranda Lawson, Shepard's lover, retired and was never seen again. Many believed she killed herself in grief.**

**Jacob continued life with his family. Grunt died in the battle for Earth in a gunship. Samara was found dead on top of Reaper infantry. Wrex was crippled after the battle and went back to his home world, only to marry Eve and live with his children until his dying days. Garrus and Liara married each other and moved back to Garrus's home world.**

**Tali and Legion, having mended their friendship after the incident on Rannoch, created the Joint Council, consisting of three geth leaders and three quarian leaders, plus Tali and Legion. Zaeed was never found, presumed dead. Jack opened her own school and named it after Shepard.**

**Javik, despite having wanted to die, decided to live instead, becoming a new council member in the Citadel, along with Admiral Hackett, who retired after the Reaper War. Dr. Chakwas retired and helped James deal with losing Steve, who crashed into a Reaper, killing it and himself.**

**Commander Shepard died saving Earth. It cost technological advances, but it was worth the lives saved. However, a new threat loomed on the horizon. The Reapers were destroyed, Collectors wiped out, and the geth had been brought to peace. So who was this new enemy and who would stop it?**

"Maxy! Order on table twelve!" Barnabus rang the bell. For a krogan, he was very peaceful and preferred to cook rather than fight. He stalked back from the counter, flipping over a turtle egg on the giant stove.

A serving girl walked up to the counter, grabbing the plate and walking back to table twelve. "Here you go," she said with an Australian accent. She had short, roughly cropped black hair. Her loose fitting clothes rustled as she walked past the tables. She had left her tight uniforms back when she left Earth.

She saw the host, Markus, a turian, seat a couple of men at a table. One was another turian and another a human. The saloon on Harnek was right in the intersection between most planets, giving them human, krogan, elcor, all sorts of species. Markus nodded at her and she got her pad out.

"Hi, gentlemen, what can I get you?" Maxy said, looking between the two men.

"Wow," said the turian. "I'd like a piece of that, and I'm not even attracted to humans." He leaned back in his chair, gazing at her ass.

"Excuse me, sir, that's highly inappropriate," Maxy said, blushing in an embarrassing way. Behind her, Markus sat another man at a table.

"Yeah, I'll have the special," said the human. "Excuse my friend's rudeness, he isn't accustomed to our ways." He handed her a credit chip, winking. "Meet me outside?" She never even saw his hand reach up and squeeze her ass.

Maxy's eyes widened and she swatted his hand away. She swiveled in place and landed a kick on his face, hearing a sickening crunch. Markus looked up from his podium and gasped, his mandibles twitching along with the human's turian partner. The turian stood and pulled a pistol out of his holster.

"Get the fuck out!" yelled Barnubus, slamming the turian against the wall by his neck. He threw him out the door, then grabbed the human. "Don't touch my waitresses." His nose was bleeding and crooked. Maxy suspected his nose was broken. Barnubus threw him out, too.

"Thanks," Maxy said, blushing. "I didn't need your help though."

"I know you didn't," Barnubus replied. "Just felt like giving it." He walked back into the kitchen, muttering something about the turtle egg being burnt.

"Waitress?" said the man behind her. She turned and saw him smiling at her. He had a face that reminded her of him…the one who had changed her life. In some insignificant way, he did. Though he also looked completely different.

"Sorry, sir, for that disturbance," said Maxy, smiling. Her head was hot with the blood rush she had gotten, and she assumed she was still blushing. "What can I get you?"

"You're exactly who I was looking, for actually," said the man. For a second, Maxy thought he would pull what the other two had. "No, no, don't worry, just sit. I'd like to talk, Ms. Lawson."

Lawson. Chills ran down her spine. She looked at the man, trying to contain her hidden fear and surprise. "I'm sorry, I don't recognize the name. I'm Maxy Orin. Who is -?"

"Stop playing with me, Miranda," said the man. "Sit down."

"This guy bothering you, too?" Barnubus called from the kitchens, glowering at the customer.

"No, Barny, just…just taking his order," Maxy said, nodding at her boss. She sat down across from the customer staring him in the eyes. He had deep blue eyes that made her lose herself. They crept into her soul, they were so bright. "What do you want?"

He pulled a file out of the bag he hung over his chair. Ever since the Reapers were defeated, technology had gone backwards quite a few steps, requiring paper again. He nodded towards the file as he slid it across the table. "Read."

Maxy opened the envelope and shuddered at the first image. In a large font at the top was written "COMMANDER JOHN SHEPARD." Underneath was his picture. His perfectly shaved head, rounded eyes, his plump lips Miranda had loved so…

Maxy shut the folder, shutting her eyes. When she opened them again, she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She looked at the man, who stared at her intently. "Read."

She opened the folder again. His army photo still stared at her, emotionless. She looked down the list of personal achievements: First Human Spectre, Commander of the Normandy, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Award Receiver for Numerous Acts Across The Galaxy"

"Status: KIA"

"Crew Members over the Years:

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko: KIA On Virmire

Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams: MIA After Reaper Battle

Corporal Richard Jenkins: KIA On Eden Prime, First Reaper Contact

Second Lieutenant Jeff Moreu: MIA After Reaper Battle

Garrus Vakarian: Retired

Tali'Zorahh nar Rayya: Retired from Military Employment

Liara T'soni: Retired

Urdnot Wrex: Retired

Private Jacob Taylor: Retired

Miranda Lawson: Missing, Presumed Dead

Jack: Retired from Military Employment

Urdnot Grunt: KIA

Legion: Retired from Military Employment

Mordin Solus: KIA on Tuchanka

Zaeed Massani: MIA, Presumed KIA

Samara: KIA

Thane Krios: KIA

Dr. Karen Chakwas: Retired

James Vega: Military Leave Due to Unstable Conditions

Steve Cortez: KIA

Javik: Retired

Samantha Traynor: Retired from Military Employment

Engineer Greg Adams: Still working for the Systems Alliance"

So many of Miranda's friends killed in action. She knew Thane and Shepard were close, and had heard of how hard Shepard had taken it. She was glad to hear when John had found Kai Leng, the assassin, and stuck him through. Mordin had been an exceptional doctor, Samara an elegant –

'Put those thoughts out of your mind, those days are behind me,' she thought, flipping the page. A useless page of disclaimers. She turned another page. Biography of John. She turned another page. Each of his crew members photos. She'd never known Kaidan, who had also been a good friend of John's. He was very handsome, and looked like a nice man.

She sniffed and rubbed the tears from her face. So many dead, needless deaths. Thane still had a good two months left before Kepral's Syndrome would have taken him. Grunt had been little more than a toddler in krogan terms. Samara had lived a good life and died a hero…but a hero died too soon that day.

"Miranda –," said the man, leaning forward.

"Maxy," she said, closing the file and sliding it across the table to him. "My name is Maxy and if you came here to make me weep, you've done a great job. Now order something or get the FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!" She stalked back towards the kitchens and slammed the door open, feeling more tears fall down her face.

She slammed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Panting, crying, and about to scream, she looked at herself in the mirror. She would not get another face job, nor could she with the technological disadvantages. The best she could do was cut her hair and hope no one recognized her. But obviously, someone had.

Miranda Lawson had lost not a commander, not a friend, but a lover back on Earth. Reliving the experience was horrid, even as the battle came back into her mind, the battle that decided everything, the battle that changed her life.


	2. The Fate of One

Miranda ran across the field of dead bodies and Reaper infantry, her hair blowing in the wind. A large Reaper loomed above her. One of the smaller ones, or so Intel said. She didn't care; they were all big, this one just looked like an ugly beetle with a disgusting ass. She motioned for her troops to follow up.

The Reaper fired its laser at a building. This was England, reduced to rubble by fucking giant, purple bugs…that could fire lasers and were intent on sending all species into extinction. But other than that, they were nothing more than bugs.

Sanchez ran up and tripped over the body of a turian husk. He picked himself up and adjusted his helmet. Armor was so heavy, it only weighed them down. She'd seen good men and women fall because they weren't fast enough. Miranda was fine, though. She was fast enough to dodge lasers and bullets.

"Captain Lawson," said Victor as he followed Sanchez. "Orders?"

"Call me Miranda, I'm not in the military," Miranda responded, tired of the way the troops she'd found and rescued on the way had insisted on calling her by a military title. She'd had to correct them many times. "I say we take this Reaper out. Who's in?"

"Aye, aye, sir!" said the troops.

"Er…Sanchez, Victor, Angel, set up a perimeter and make sure no infantry ambushes us," Miranda said, motioning where they should stand. "Beth, Aniese, Landon, climb up one of those legs each. Andrew, you follow me and keep an eye out for any fliers. Move!"

Her troops moved into position. The three soldiers staying on the ground took position in a triangular format, positioning themselves to see what the others could not. The soldiers designated to climb the Reaper sprinted towards the legs, climbing up any handholds they could reach. Miranda leapt up and grabbed a handhold as the leg rose, the lumbering machine walking forward.

Andrew screamed and Miranda looked down. He was falling, he'd missed the handhold Miranda had jumped to, and she watched in agony as he fell the distance down. There was no way he'd survive. He landed, Victor running towards his corpse. Miranda watched Victor cradle his limp head and then shut his eyes. He looked up and shook his head at Miranda. As she thought.

She kept climbing. The rest of her crew was much farther ahead of her, and Beth was already on the leg, keeping her balance. Soon, the other two soldiers were up on their ledge, and Miranda was up not long after. She pulled a block of explosives out of her pouch and setting them inside of the joint. Her leg rose just as she put it in place.

"Shit!" she said, as the explosives shifted over onto armor. Miranda tried to keep her balance, but nearly fell. She went to her hands and knees and grabbed the explosives, planting them on the joint. She called out to her soldiers to follow her lead.

When she saw they had placed their explosives, she nodded, and they began to climb down. She heard the whining of an aircraft, and looked around, unable to locate it. But she found the source eventually. Her eyes widened as the craft came hurtling towards her. She let go of the Reaper and she felt vertigo as she fell, feet first, always looking up.

The craft crashed into the leg, tearing it in half. The explosives on the joints exploded from the aircraft and caused the leg to collapse even more. She saw Beth across from her nearly fall, but couldn't see the other two troops on the Reaper. The men below ran from underneath he behemoth as it crashed down. She just kept falling and knew she would not survive.

Miranda woke up groggily in rubble. The Reaper's remains were scattered all around. She looked at the sky and noticed Reapers falling down to Earth. The lasers were offline, they weren't moving at all, just crashing into Earth. She heard cheering down the street, but it sounded far off. Miranda wasn't sure whether that was reality or her horrible headache. Maybe a bit of both.

She heard footsteps, running. She tried to look in front of her, but a piece of the Reaper seemed to be on top of her. That must have been the searing pain shooting through her legs. She looked behind her and saw Sanchez and Victor running towards her. "Captain Lawson! Captain, oh God, get Anderson on the line, or, I don't know, someone, we need to get her out of here!"

She awoke in a hospital bed. Doctors walked up and down the aisle. She heard the moans of the injured and the screams of the dying through the whole hospital. If it was a hospital. The Alliance had used whatever they could as medical bays. She didn't doubt this was not one of those instances.

"Doctor," Miranda called. "Doctor, or nurse, please. Help…water." She felt an undying thirst in her throat and her tongue was dry. A nurse came by with a glass of water. Miranda sat up and grabbed it from her hands, spilling some on her gown and gulped it down. "More."

"Ms. Lawson, please, you must relax, your legs are injured," said the nurse, smiling with a big, bubbly, fake grin. Miranda hated that.

"More. Water!" Miranda demanded.

The nurse left, but immediately after, Miranda called her back. "Wait…wait, wait, wait. Where am I and what am I doing here?"

"You're at St. Margarita's Hospital," said the nurse in a thick, British accent. "Your soldiers transported you here. Oh, my dear, maybe you should know this. The war is over."

Over. Shepard must have done it. She knew he would figure out what to do, she just knew it. She sighed a sigh of relief. "Good. Good…How is Jo-Commander Shepard?"

The nurse seemed uncomfortable at this comment. She pulled her hands up to her chest, putting something between herself and Miranda. Human psychology. "We are currently looking for Commander Shepard. His last known location showed many bodies, but none of them were Shepard's. Sadly, we did find Admiral Anderson's body on the Citadel, along with the Illusive Man's, which was…"

Miranda looked at the nurse. She was probably a medic from the field, used here as freelance. She stared at the ground nervously. "I'm not sure I should disclose this information to you, Ms. Lawson, forgive me. Now, about that water."

Miranda laid in bed for days. Many doctors came through to treat her, and she was kept awake by the screams and moans of the other injured, but she felt console in the TV. She was glad that they'd kept those in a vault, since normal electronics seemed to not function, including ships.

One day, Miranda lay in bed eating a terrible lunch. Hospital food, so she wasn't too surprised, but the news that appeared on the TV made her stomach lurch.

The news reporter looked grim. She was an asari, one of the deep blue ones, and had the makeup patterns along her face that consisted of purples and greens bordering the color. "Hello, this is News Station 1, bringing you all the latest news around Earth. We are sad to announce that Commander Shepard's body was found on a remote section of the Citadel. The location was only accessible through the area Admiral Anderson and the Illusive Man were found. Private Uthenks, the korgan who led the rescue team, had this to say."

The scene changed to a strange area Miranda did not recognize. There was a large orb in the middle of a tower that jutted not far in the sky. Space was seen everywhere, the emptiness of it all surrounding you. A group of C-Sec officers stood and stooped near a body. Some of them took pictures with their omni-tools.

A krogan's voice rumbled over the camera shifting to a close up of the body. It was Shepard.

Miranda began to cry as she stared at the face, not even listening to what this Uthenks had to say. The tears began to fall, and Miranda tried to keep her cries contained, but could not, and screamed in agony, pounding her fist into her thighs angrily.


	3. Forgetting The Old Life

As soon as she was able to stand, Miranda left the hospital. She left the United Kingdom, and traveled west to New York. It was in disarray, just like London was. No big surprise. The Reapers were trained to do one thing and one thing only: Kill, and destroy, if necessary. Sometimes they were just too damn big to not destroy anything.

As she got off the plane (what annoying creations, using gasoline as power), carrying her small amount of luggage in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, she followed the crowd towards a kiosk. A turian female (with years of observation, Miranda had begun to notice the difference) stood there, handing different slips to different people.

Miranda was given a blue slip and followed the travelers with blue slips. Family members greeted their relatives, most likely soldiers who were on the front lines in London and now returning. Most of the aliens had no one rushing forward to greet them, but Miranda noticed a couple of elcor greeting each other.

Miranda herself had someone to greet her. Oriana, her twin sister, stood waiting at the gate. Miranda gave as best a smile she could and embraced her sister, who was made in a laboratory just as Miranda was. Although twins, they were years apart in age and looked almost nothing alike. Their hair color was the only similarity.

"Glad to see you, Sis," Oriana said as they pulled away from the hug, feigning enthusiasm. Miranda knew Oriana loved to be happy, she'd learned that right off the bat. But with John gone, Oriana could feel Miranda's overwhelming sadness. "Let's get to the car. I'll take you home."

Cars were another vehicle she hated. More gasoline, less effectiveness. Less money in your pocket at the end of the day. Miranda feigned enthusiasm right back. "Excellent. I can't wait to sleep in a comfortable bed." They made their way to the exit, along with the rest of the passengers. Oriana took one of her bags, lessening her load.

As they put the bags in the trunk, Oriana came over to her sister once more and hugged her. "I love you, Miri."

"And you, Ori," said Miranda, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. They both opened their mouths as if they meant to say something, but both shut them as quick. Miranda had a feeling she knew what Oriana was going to say, just by looking into her eyes.

They stepped into the car, Oriana getting into the driver's seat. There were some classes in high school that offered Driver's Ed, but Miranda had never been interested. She had doubted there would ever be a time when life would have to go back to the old ways.

"So, how was London?" Oriana eventually asked.

"Not good," Miranda replied bluntly. "I'm hearing reports about my fr-…the crew. On the way here, the news…they found Samara's body."

"Oh, Miri," Oriana replied after a while, her mouth agape. "She was so powerful…how anything overpowered her…"

It was true. Samara was one of the most powerful asari Miranda was ever privileged to have met, and was not a bad person either. To hear that she was dead had torn her apart, but it didn't even come close to what she felt when she heard about John.

"Were there any other casualties?" Oriana asked after a longer period of silence.

"A pilot named Steve Cortez," Miranda replied. "He apparently knew John well, he was a part of his newest crew members…Crashed his shuttle after a Banshee attack. And of course, Mordin and Thane…"

She was still torn up. They had died before the battle, but had sacrificed themselves for the safety of others. Mordin had applied a cure to the genophage on Tuchanka in an extremely dangerous building. It collapsed in on itself, leaving a heap of rubble and no sign of the salarian's body.

Thane had died fighting the Cerberus assassin Kai Leng. Leng had stuck his katana through his stomach, and due to Kepral's syndrome, which prevented Thane's body from producing blood, Thane had died later that week. John had been broken up when he had seen Miranda after that event. She had suspected Thane was one of his closer friends, along with that Kaidan Alenko, back when John had taken on Saren and Soverign.

"Maybe we should talk about something else," Miranda said, scowling slightly. Not at Oriana, just at thinking about all of her dead friends, so many people that had helped her change her ways from the cold hearted bitch she had been before to the warmer, more welcoming woman she'd become.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. There wasn't much to talk about, seeing as they were both thinking about one thing: Death. And Miranda was in no mood to talk about more death, she was surrounded by it. Oriana could read her sister. Maybe not as well as Miranda could read her back, but this was obvious, and they both knew to avoid the topic.

They arrived at a large apartment complex. Humans and aliens alike walked around in the lobby, yelling at a woman behind the counter. "People, people, please, calm down! I will try my best to get each and every one of you a room, but we are very limited. The top floors have been destroyed and are in the process of being rebuilt. I plead for your patience, but I'm afraid we only have so many rooms, and not all of you will get one, I'm sorry!"

The crowd went wild, but Miranda and her sister walked right past the mob as they groped over the counter. The sisters stepped into the elevator that was waiting for them, pushing the up key. They felt themselves rise as they reached the 4th floor, which was now the top floor due to the destruction. Oriana led Miranda down a few doors then turned to the right, opening number 405. "Welcome home, Miri."

There wasn't much to brag about in the room. A simple loveseat and a couch opposing it on the other side. A television stood across from a wide window that overlooked the next few blocks of New York. Miranda stared out across the city, where men, women, and aliens alike were at work, rebuilding buildings and demolishing others that were beyond repair. Oriana carried her bags into the room, telling her something that didn't register with Miranda.

"Sorry, what, sis?" Miranda called as Oriana disappeared behind the door.

"I said this'll be your room," Oriana replied. "My boyfriend and I separated – no worries, it was in the best interest for both of us – and now his room is empty. The timing was great. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable, sleeping with him."

"Oh, yeah, I understand," replied Miranda following her into the room. It wasn't much to brag over, either. A twin sized bed and a small television laying on a dresser. A vanity sat on the left side of the room, and a couple of windows on the other side of the room, a large wardrobe laying in-between.

"Is this good?"

Miranda smiled. "Perfect, sis."

Oriana cooked them a dinner that Miranda found delicious. "I never knew you were such a good cook."

"It's just spaghetti," Oriana replied sheepishly.

"Please, the sauce is delicious, and the noodles are perfect," Miranda retorted, smiling. She suddenly felt her eyes well up with water and stared at her dinner, averting her gaze from Oriana so she would not see her tears. They slowly trickled down her cheeks and off her nose into her spaghetti.

"Come here, Miranda," Oriana said, and before Miranda could tell what was happening, they were hugging each other. Miranda began to cry even harder and fell off her chair. The next thing she knew, she awoke from a nightmare in bed, a cold sweat matting her hair down to her head.

She'd dreamt of John.

She awoke the next day to the smell of pancakes. She crawled out of bed and got dressed before stepping out of her room. Oriana turned at the kitchen in a bathrobe and smiled. "Morning."

"Morning. Smells good," Miranda replied, sitting down on the loveseat, curling up. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. It was the news. Javik was on screen. 'Good,' thought Miranda, changing the channel. She was glad to hear he was alive. She hadn't known him, but John had spoke highly of the last Prothean. She couldn't bear to look at the channel, though.

The next channel, the salarian on screen talked of John's death. She changed the channel. The next channel showed a picture of the fallen. A picture of Admiral Anderson, another of John's friends, faded to black before showing a picture of John. She changed the channel. 'Finally, a comedy,' she thought, sighing quietly. 'A shitty one, but a comedy.'

The screen faded to black as a laugh track transitioned out and a commercial came on. "During the battle against the Reapers in London, many brave soldiers and citizens alike lost their lives to the vicious Reapers, including one very important man who sacrificed his life for the sake of life. Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre and -."

Miranda shut the TV off and stood. "Nothing good on," she told Oriana sitting at the dining room table. She went to the terminal, to check on global news. She knew what she'd find, but she booted up the browser anyway. A pop-up of John showed up on screen, accompanied by the same voice she'd just heard on the television. She shut the terminal with a scream.

"What?" Oriana said, coming out of the kitchen with a spatula in hand. "What happened?"

"CAN'T THESE FUCKERS STOP TALKING ABOUT HIM, MAKING ME RELIVE HIS DEATH IN MY HEAD! DAMMIT, DAMN THEM, FUCK THESE ASSHOLES!" she pushed away from the chair, knocking it over and rushing out the door, slamming it behind her.

The door opened again just as quickly, and Oriana's voice called out for Miranda. "Miri, wait, wait! Where are you going?"

"Taking a walk," Miranda said weakly. She heard Oriana chase after her, but by then she was in the elevator, pressing the down button. When she reached the lobby, she slammed her palms against the glass door, not caring if they cracked or broke.

As she took each step, more tears welled up and fell down her cheeks. She felt the passers-by stare at her as she walked by.

"I think it'd be best if I left," Miranda told Oriana.

Oriana looked up from her plate, the food falling off her fork. "What?"

"I can't stay here any longer," Miranda said, letting her fork fall on the plate. She put her eyes in her palms. "I'm dangerous, Ori. I'm a psycho, and I need to get away for a while. I'll send you money, wherever I go, but…please don't be mad. It's better this way."

"You can't!" Oriana yelled at her, her eyes watering up. "I'm your sister, you have to stay with me! We'll get through this, John may be gone, but we'll get through this!"

"That's why I can't get through this," Miranda replied. "John was my everything. And now he's gone."

"Sis, we'll be fine, I can get you help if you want," Oriana said. "We'll get through this. We will."

Miranda stared at herself in the mirror that night, feeling her hair. 'I love my hair. Dammit,' she thought, pulling the knife out and cutting it off in one swipe. It fell in the sink, leaving her hair choppy and uneven.

She grabbed the luggage from her bed and opened it up, to reveal all her packed clothes. She found it, the little pistol she'd always concealed in her boot. She went back to the bathroom and set it down on the sink. "Just in case."

She zipped up the luggage after repacking and carried it out, closing the door behind her silent. Miranda stalked to the elevator, keeping her feet as quiet as possible, and pressed the lobby button. The elevator took her downstairs.

She paid every cent she carried to the quarian who had repaired the small, human cruiser. It had taken her days, weeks, maybe even months to get down to Texas. She'd lost all track of time, and she didn't care. She needed to get off of this damn planet. Her home. Had she been born there? That was another thing she forgot, where she was born…well…grown.

The quarians were always technologically advanced, and this one, Yaros'Reegar vas Rannoch, was very smart, or so he claimed. He had a crew comprised of krogan, batarian, and salarian, and they were all bustling around, running maintenance on the ship. Yaros told her to go and sit in the cockpit until they took off.

Miranda looked through her luggage. Fresh clothes, she'd washed them before leaving Oriana's place. She smelled them…the smell of laundry detergent was a silly luxury she loved, but had never admitted to loving. It soothed her in times of worry.

She must have stayed in the cockpit for more than five hours, but couldn't remember most of it. She assumed she'd dozes off. Yaros walked in, along with a batarian (named Jaxus, the co-pilot) and ordered her out. She found a nice salarian woman and they began to play a game of Sally's Quarter, a game the salarian had created. The rest of the crew laughed as Miranda beat the salarian every time.

Miranda followed the crew into the stasis chambers. A krogan was tapping away at a terminal on the back wall, but cursed. He ordered everybody out of the stasis pods and told them they didn't have enough energy to use them. The crew, enlisting the help of Miranda, pushed the stasis pods back into the walls, pulling out shelves that acted as bunk beds. They collected mattresses from inside a closet and set to work getting everything ready.

Miranda barely got any sleep, with the crew shifting out every so often to pilot the ship, and some of the crew unable to sleep. And when a krogan got up to piss, forget about sleeping. The whole room moaned when one did. But that didn't bother Miranda. She wasn't tired.

She had to find a new life for herself. She'd abandon her clothes as soon as possible, just in case, change her face if need be – no, she couldn't do that. Her face would be the only thing that'd keep her herself, in truth. But a new name, for sure.

It came to her suddenly. Maxy. Maxy Orin. If she become a lowly job, such as a janitor – no, too messy – a secretary – who would be accepting a secretary in these times? – a waitress – definitely a waitress. It paid well, depending on who and where you worked for. She fell asleep soundly, repeating the name to herself. "Maxy Orin. Maxy Orin. Maxy Orin. Maxy…Orin."

**Sorry for the long chapter, guys, but the pre-story stuff is officially DONE!**

**Just to clear something up, I am following the ending of Mass Effect 3, not some fantasy ending I created. Some things may be edited slightly, but nothing too major. Please do not get into the details of the ending or start flaming the ending. Thank you.**

**Don't forget to give feedback! Enjoy!**


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